Where we challenge what you won't say or you don't know…yet

Archive for June, 2014

Every now and again we have to reboot the cable box. When it finally restarts, on the blue screen, the AT&T U-verse system always reminds us to Rethink Possible.

While most people will see a logo and a slogan from AT&T and would just impatiently be waiting for their system to reboot, this would normally be me, these words hung on our screen for what seemed like an eternity.

Rethink Possible. What is possible? What are my thoughts telling me? Without self-limitations what could become possible?

We know the story of the impossible four-minute mile that once broken by Roger Bannister in 1954. While nobody thought it possible and nobody had been able to accomplish this feat, once Roger took a moment to rethink possible and train differently he was able to achieve this goal. Now the four-minute mile is the standard of all male professional middle distance runners.

Of course where would we be today without the Wright brothers, rethinking possible? We would still be traveling on a lot more road trips!

What can you do to rethink possible?

Unlike the Wright brothers and Roger Bannister there is possibly someone who has already achieved what is possible. Reach out to those people and follow the path they have already set out for you. If it is possible for one, it can be possible for you as well.

Other ways to rethink possible:

Write down what you think is not possible and then on a different piece of paper write the opposite. Then dispose of the limiting thought.I am not able to sell 50 units this year. I will sell 50 units this year.

Break down impossible to see how possible it actually can be.50 units this year = 1 unit a week – now focus on something possible like 1 a week instead of the large number of 50 a year

Finish something else you were starting to think might not be possible. The accomplishment will help you see how other things are possible.Finish that book or home improvement project you have been putting aside.

Nothing is truly impossible it might just take time, finances or the right people around you to achieve your target. If you rethink possible, you will find that solution.

AT&T might be moving their brand away from Rethink Possible towards Mobilizing Your World to stay with the times and express a different image. Esther Lee, senior vice president for brand marketing, advertising and sponsorship at AT&T, says that “AT&T remains a ‘Rethink Possible’ company and this line will remain our company signature on all corporate assets.”

You might also change your focus once you have achieved your target success because once you learn to rethink possible, you will always be able to rethink possible!

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Chadalyst – RETHINK POSSIBLE – what is something that you have been limiting yourself with? Write your negative and limiting thought on a piece of paper…write the opposite on a different piece of paper…crumple the first limiting thought and throw it away!

Fights have begun over simple misunderstandings that come from different interpretations of what is said and what was meant. Make sure you know your audience and are clear on what you mean.

Here are some simple examples of how one message can have different meanings depending on the people involved.

It’s all downhill from here.

To some people this is a horrible term leading to the end of the ride. This is often used in a situation like a birthday milestone and telling someone, it is all downhill from here. Many people will hear this phrase as a negative.

On the other side of the coin

The origination of this phrase comes from climbing a hill and working hard to get to the top. Once at the top of the hill, it is all downhill from there. This could be the same for anyone looking to get over an obstacle.

I am saving my money.

We sent out an email to a large group of people about an amazing event that was coming to town and had an admission fee for this event. The email reply we got from one of the people we sent the message to was, I am saving my money.

Meaning that they were putting coins in a jar, digging through the sofa, buying less and saving their money so they could attend the session?

On the other side of the coin

I am saving my money could have meant that they saw no value in the course that was coming and they were saving their money by not attending. This must have been the case, because they never registered or showed up

My phone started to light up as text messages started to show up asking what was wrong and was everything ok. It seems that those people heard a meaning that sounded like I had nothing in my life worth being grateful for, which is as far from the truth as possible.

On the other side of the coin

All I was saying was that my family had sat around the house and rested after a few days of go, go, go. In other words we had done nothing for a day, and I was extremely grateful for it!

Be careful in what you say (or type as a Facebook posting and an email can create the same challenge) and just as importantly be careful in how you hear or read something.

Always remember to come from curiosity and ask if you are unsure.

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Chadalyst – Take a moment and make sure that what you said or typed was taken the way you intended.

Thanks to the wonderful movie UP we all have turned a squirrel from a rodent to a term for a distraction. Google squirrel and the third organic result is the video clip of Dug the Dog.

When something sparkling catches your eye SQUIRREL

When your phone beeps at you in the middle of a conversation SQUIRREL

When you are reading and something flickers on the screen or someone walks by where you are sitting SQUIRREL

You can understand the shock and surprise that I felt when I found determination and complete focus in the form of a squirrel!

Look closely to the photo below, and you will notice our newest neighbor Bruce the squirrel. We have named him Bruce after Bruce Wayne because of the way he hangs upside down like a bat. Bruce found our bird feeder. After falling off a couple of times, since it is supposed to be squirrel-proof, he found a solution to his challenge.

Bruce, our squirrel, understands the concept of Failing Forward (a brilliant book by John C Maxwell) and after trial and error he has figured that by hanging upside down from a tree branch he can just reach the food tray on the bird feeder without putting weight on the perch.

With focus, Bruce is able to help himself to a snack when needed. It does not matter if we are watching him, if our dog is watching him or even if his sidekick, a chipmunk we named Robin that catches the seeds that fall, is watching, Bruce stays focused on the task at hand.

We have had other squirrels come visit and climb our tree. All of these squirrels sit there and stare at the free buffet until they give up and climb down and run off. Not Bruce he has the focus needed to reach his goals!

***Update on Bruce and our bird feeder – we have moved the bird feeder to a place Bruce can no longer reach. Don’t worry we also installed a squirrel feeder for Bruce.

Of course a determined and focused squirrel will always find a solution. We have now found Robin, the chipmunk sidekick, jumping from the branch, landing on the bird feeder and laying down on the perch (he is light enough to not activate the spring) and knock food into the ivy, and waiting hands of Bruce, below. The lesson from this advancement is how important it is to hire the right people to work with you, and that is another blog post for another time. For now, stay FOCUSED!

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Chadalyst – FOCUS! If a squirrel can focus, so can you. Shut off your phone (or if you have an iPhone use the greatest gift Apple has given us) close your door and FOCUS on doing what really needs to be done!

I am not asking if you are from a different city then I am. I am not asking if you are in a different state. It doesn’t matter what country or even what world you are from. What I am asking is when you look outside what is the weather you see?

The weather changes often, which is what keeps our local TV weather people employed. That is unless you live someplace like Las Vegas where the weather for at least the next 3 years seems to be hot, or a place like Seattle where the same 3 years seem to be filled with rain.

When you look out your window do you see storm clouds rolling in and the darkness coming or are you always able to see the patch of blue sky and the rainbows?

When the thunder booms is your first reaction to shut the windows and prepare for a storm or are you wanting to sit outside and watch the light show the sky is about to put on with an accompanying sound track?

Do you carry an umbrella just in case the rain comes or do you keep sunglasses on hand knowing the sun will be out any moment?

It all comes down to your mindset and how you look at everything in life.

Do your friends call you Debbie Downer because you always see the negative side of things or are you Sally Sunshine always looking at the bright side of life?

Was your favorite friend of Winnie the Pooh’s Eeyore or Tigger?

These are choices we can make each and everyday.

When your flight is delayed is that when you complain about flying or is that when you take the extra moments to make a phone call to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while?

When someone cuts you off on the road do you yell and scream at them even though they can’t hear you, or do you forget it and hope everything that they are rushing to is ok?

The weather will change. Seattle will have blue sky days (although they will never tell you that so you don’t move there and over crowd the city any more than it is already) and Las Vegas will have rain and days where the sun is never seen.

The question isn’t what is the weather today, the question is…what will you see in the weather today?

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Chadalyst – As soon as a negative thought enters your head, replace it with a positive one. It is impossible to have both at the same time! You CAN choose to see the sunshine!